That's My Girl
"That's My Girl" is the third and final single from Fifth Harmony's sophomore studio album, 7/27. It was released on September 27, 2016 and was written by Tinashe Kachingwe, Alexander Kronlund, and Lukas Loules, with the production being handled by Kronlund and Loules. A remixes extended play was released two months after its initial release. Several critics noted a similarity between the group's past singles, most notably, "Worth It", and "Boss", whose instrumentation of strong brassy horns, drumroll and sharp hooks is also used in this song. "That's My Girl" is mainly an R&B anthemic track with lyrical themes focused on female empowerment, confidence and encouragement. Composition "That's My Girl" has a length of three minutes and twenty-four seconds. The song was co-written by R&B singer Tinashe, Alexander Kronlund and Lukas Loules and produced by Kronlund and Loules. It is in the key of F minor, and written in common time with a moderate tempo of 101 beats per minute. Lyrically the song expresses a message of female empowerment. Its instrumentation includes "brassy horns, heavy bass, and an electronic drumroll". The song opens with member Ally Brooke singing the first verse: "Who's been working so damn hard?/ You got that head on overload," before praising "that flawless body", accompanied by horn samples. Normani rap-sings in the bridge: "Destiny said it, you got to get up and get it/Get mad independent, don't you ever forget it." Critical reception While reviewing the album 7/27, Christopher R. Weingarten from Rolling Stone wrote "there's nothing here as good as 2014's "Boss" but "That's My Girl" bites its honking horns just fine and delivers a booming addendum to its empowering message". Digital Spy's Lewis Corner wrote, "'That's My Girl' is basically the bolder, more fierce cousin of 'Worth It' with its strutting brass and a chorus powerful enough to launch a NASA mission." In a mixed review, Michael Smith of Renowned for Sound criticized the song's production, commenting on how the transitions to different verses can "feel disjointed in a few ways". Smith also called the song a "confusing single choice" and mentions how the song "is far from the best that Fifth Harmony have had to offer". Music video Synopsis A screenshot of the video showing the members Ally (left), Normani (center) and Dinah (right) with the white costumes inspired by Mad Max. The music video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis and was released on September 19, 2016. It begins with shots of injured townsfolk and helicopters flying around a ruined town. The group then starts singing in solo shots in an all black ensemble in front of a lit rock wall. In the following scene, the group walk to the ruined town in a post-apocalyptic world setting dressing in white clothes holding, initially, white flags, where they dance through the streets singing the song's empowering lyrics and saving the affected people. The video then shows Dinah singing the second verse with a red light on the background walking into the aching bathroom where the camera then changes to Ally singing her verse followed by Camila and Lauren singing simultaneously: "You've been down before, you've been hurt before, you've got up before, you be good to go." Then, the group is shown dancing and singing the chorus with red flags. In the third bridge, the group forms a circle around a red power that explodes forming the number five with the following scene showing the group dancing in the ruined town at night with a dim light on the background. The video ends showing the town in the shape of the number 5, in reference to the name of thegroup. Reception Several critics noted the influence of the movie Mad Max in the video conception, Sasha Geffen from MTV noted that "their outfits look like they could have been pulled from the Mad Max: Fury Road wardrobe, though there are no War Boys to be spotted in the desert landscape. Girls rule this post-apocalypse — maybe it’s a sequel."Entertainment Weekly's Nolan Feeney wrote that "the quintent played sexy emergency workers in a Hunger Games-esque dystopian society that’s been rocked by catastrophe." Michele Lulli of Bustle gave a positive review for the video writing that "the fact that the group chose to make everything from the music video's set design to their choreography a reflection of confidence and badassery is everything. And the fact that they gave it some dystopian franchise flavor only makes me love this song and music video even more." The writer compared the video with a variety of movies that show female characters in leading positions. Live performances The group performed the song for the first time as the opening song for the North American leg of The 7/27 Tour. The group performed the song for the first time on television at the American Music Awards on November 20, 2016 with a "post a apocalyptic" set. According to editor Andrew Unterberger from Billboard, it was the fourth best performance of the night. The X Factor series 13 contestant Gifty Louise performed a cover of the song during the live week one, which received the favour and praise of all four judges. The group also performed the song as a part of the segment for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Lyrics References Category:Fifth Harmony Category:Fifth Harmony Singles Category:Fifth Harmony Songs Category:Singles Category:Songs